July 26, 2012 Wayne & Garfield County Insider

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Panguitch • Panguitch Lake • Hatch • Bryce • Tropic • Antimony • Henrieville • Cannonville • Escalante • Boulder • Fremont • Loa • Lyman Bicknell • Teasdale • Torrey • Grover • Fruita • Caineville • Hanksville

THREE COMMUNIITIES BID FAREWELL TO VETERAN POSTMASTERS

Familiar smiles: Retiring postmasters are, left to right, VanDyke and Carolyn Hatch. WAYNE CO. – Our daily trip to the post office means friendly service and a smile from a familiar face. In Wayne County, a few of those faces will be changing on July 31, when three of our postmasters retire from their duties as a result of an incentive program being offered by the U.S. Postal Service. Retiring postmasters are Beth Hunt in Loa, Carolyn Hatch in Hanksville, and Marielen VanDyke in Lyman. Beth Hunt began working for the U.S. Postal Service as a Saturday clerk in Loa in June of 1984, where she served for 10 years, transferring in January 1994 to work as a clerk in the Richfield Post Office. On January 3, 1996, Beth became the Postmaster of Escalante. Soon after, on August 1, 1997, she transferred to the Loa Office upon the retirement of Nadine Brown Taylor. Beth says that serving in her own community has been a very rewarding career. She will miss interacting and associating with the people of Loa and surrounding communities on a daily basis. Beth and her husband Terry are looking forward to starting another chapter in their lives. They plan on enjoying their children, Trent and Cheryl Hunt and Tammy Ice, and grand-

children: Rylee and Steve, Brayden, Bryson, Brennan, Jason and Millie. Carolyn Hatch began her career with the Postal Service in April of 1985 as Postmaster Relief/Leave Replacement in Hanksville. She worked for Postmaster Dave Sellars until he relocated to Manila, UT, in January of 1989. She then served as Officer in Charge (OIC) until April of that same year when she was installed as Postmaster. She served as Secretary/Treasurer for Utah’s National Association of Postmasters of the United States Chapter for 12 years and is still a member of this organization. Carolyn will host a customer appreciation day on Tuesday, July 31. Everyone is welcome to stop by the Hanksville Post Office for punch and cookies and send her on her way. She plans to work her home based Mary Kay business, do some traveling with friends and family and spend a lot of time with the kids and grandkids scattered from Hanksville to St. George to Pheonix. She might even drop in on her sisters and brothers, and maybe even spend time with her husband Steven. Marielen VanDyke began working as Postmaster Leave Replacement at the Lyman Post Office in October of 1986. She never

PANGUITCH WEATHER

LOA WEATHER

Beth Hunt, Marielen

planned on being a working mom with nine children, but thought learning something new and working 15 to 20 days a year would be workable. When Postmaster Larry Chappell took an early retirement she was asked to be Officer in Charge until they listed the postmaster job. She thought this would be for about four months and then those four months turned into seven years. She became OIC for the Lyman Post Office September 3, 1992 and then postmaster on October 9, 1999. She’s worked for the Postal Service for about 26 years and has been Lyman’s Postmaster for about half that time, 12 years and 9-1/2 months. Marielen says she’s enjoyed working for the Postal Service and thinks it’s the best job in town. She is now looking forward to retirement and being home, She says her ‘Hubby” Don Gay could certainly use some attention and they hope to be able to do some fun and relaxing things together. A community party was held for the retirees last Saturday at the Sunglow Restaurant in Bicknell. New faces serving as Officers in Charge until permanent postmasters are hired at these locations will be: Mary Ellett in Loa, Margene Wirtz in Lyman, and Tracy Albrecht in Hanksville.

Thursday, July 26, 2012 • Issue # 954

ESCALANTE CANYONS ART FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE WINNER ESCALANTE - The Escalante Canyons Art Festival-Everett Ruess Days, in cooperation with Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, has named Palisade, Colorado, resident, Nancy Lewis, the recipient of its first artist-inresidence award. Lewis will spend the month of September painting in Escalante, Utah, and Grand StaircaseEscalante National Monument culminating with the Escalante Canyons Art Festival on September 28 and 29. As the artist-in-residence, Lewis, who works in pastel, watercolor, and oil, will be provided with accommodations and a $1000 stipend. “This residency will provide me an opportunity . . . to study and paint in an area of extreme beauty and intrigue,” Lewis said. “This

region has unique design elements: massive shapes, value ranges, contrasting colors, and atmospheric perspective. The Escalante Canyons Art Festival is a premier art, literary, and musical gathering held every September in Escalante, Utah, on Scenic Byway 12 in the heart of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Although the festival is in its ninth year, this is the first year it has sponsored an artist-in-residence, but according to festival director Sandy Larsen, it won’t be the last. The artist-in-residence, open to all plein air artists, will be a permanent part of future festivals. The artist-in-residence is chosen through a competitive process based upon the strength of the artist’s work and a proposed com-

munity project. While in Escalante, Lewis will offer two half-day creativity labs, which are free and open to the public. “The goal of this free half-day session is to discover or rediscover the inner artist in all of us,” Lewis said. “Each attendee will create their own interpretation of the Escalante landscape using Watercolor Resist method. This is fun for whole families.” Another draw for families at the festival will be “Dr. Scott” of PBS’s Dinosaur Train. Scott Sampson will be speaking the first night of the festival, Friday, September 28. Sampson and Lewis will be joined by many talented artists, speakers, and musicians throughout the weekend. All festival events are free and open to the public.

The Escalante Canyons Art Festival’s upcoming artist in residence, Nancy Lewis, stands with her landscape painting, In the Moment.

WAYNE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE ISSUES CHARGES IN LOST LAKE FIRE LOA - On Sunday, June 3, 2012, Wayne County Sheriff's Office was called to assist the Fish Lake National Forest on several new wild land fire starts. These fires were located in the Lost Lake area within the North Slope of the Boulder Mountain, approximately 4 miles SW of Teasdale town. The forest service began to suppress the fires on Sunday afternoon. The fire consumed 2,075 acres prior to containment. Shortly after the initial report of the fire, Wayne County Sheriff's Office, and US National Forest Service believed that the fire was suspicious in its origin. There had been no lightning strikes within the area, and there were no designated camping areas near the fires point of origin. In coordination with US Forest Service and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office a possible arson investigation ensued. As a result of the investigation, on Monday July 16 2012, Wayne County's Attorney has filed a felony arson charge with the Wayne County 6th District Court, against Lance Durfey, a 38 year old male resident of Torrey, UT.

MAN FROM WAYNE COUNTY KILLED BY LIGHTNING STRIKE BICKNELL - Twentyfour year-old Jesse King of Bicknell, Utah was killed when he and his dog were struck by lightning on a fishing trip in Garfield County. King was fishing at Row Lake on the west side of Boulder Mountain Sat-

urday evening about 7 p.m. when a storm came through and King and his dog sought shelter under a tree. Lightning struck the tree and King and his dog were killed instantly. King was found by his wife, who was at their campsite nearby. Garfield County Dep-

Wayne Phone: 435-836-2622 Garfield Phone: 435-676-2621 Fax 1-888-370-8546 PO BOX 105, Escalante, Utah 84726 snapshot@live.com

For aught that I could ever read, could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth. —William Shakespeare THE WAYNE & GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER is owned and operated by Snapshot Multimedia, LLC and is distributed weekly to all of Wayne and Garfield Counties, Utah. Its purpose is to inform residents about local issues and events. Articles submitted from independent writers are not necessarily the opinion of Snapshot Multimedia, LLC. We sincerely hope you enjoy the paper and encourage input on ideas and/or suggestions for the paper.

uty Ray Gardner says that King did everything possible to try to keep himself and his dog safe, and that there was nothing that could have been done to prevent their death. King leaves behind his wife of one year, Maddy Rowland King of Bicknell.

ALL content for THE WAYNE &GARFIELD COUNTY INSIDER must be submitted on FRIDAY BEFORE 5:00 PM to be included in the following Thursday edition of the paper.

BOXHOLDER

PRE-SORT STANDARD PAID RICHFIELD, UTAH PERMIT No. 122


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